Terminal enclosure for buried cable plant

ABSTRACT

A terminal chamber in the top part of a terminal enclosure for a buried cable installation is compartmented by platelike supporting and partition members, both carried by a channelshaped rear member comprising the main enclosure body. Both compartmenting members are in forwardly spaced generally parallel relation to the rear member web. The supporting member, near the bottom of the terminal chamber supports upright stretches of cable and service lines. The partition member, spaced above it, has spliced conductors and an unassigned conductor loop secured to and overlying its front face, while a loop of unassigned conductors lies behind it.

United States Patent Douglas L. P. Hamilton Primary Examiner- Laramie E.Askin Att0rney1ra Milton Jones ABSTRACT: A terminal chamber in'the toppart of a terminal enclosure for a buried cable installation iscompartmented by platelike supporting and partition members, bothcarried by a channel-shaped rear member comprising the main enclosurebody. Both compartmenting members are in forwardly spaced generailyparallel relation to the rear member web. The supporting member, nearthe bottom of the terminal chamber supports upright stretches of cableand service lines. The partition member, spaced above it, has splicedconductors and an unassigned conductor loop secured to and overlying itsfront face, while a loop of unassigned conductors lies behind it.

PATENTEDSEPMIHYI Y 3.604.835

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SHEU 7 0F 7 gamfliun ATTORN Y INVENTOK .UuugZagLl? BY W 41!! villi J I wfir w A A FIGJO TERMINAL ENCLOSURE FOR BURIED CABLE PLANT This inventionrelates to above-ground splice and connection enclosures for buriedcable installations, and the invention is more particularly concernedwith means in such a terminal enclosure for maintaining a neat andorderly arrangement of spliced and unspliced conductors of a cable andfor effectively requiring that the cable, the service leads and theconnections in the enclosure be installed and maintained in apredetermined arrangement that facilitates later work that may be doneon the installation.

While the invention is applicable to other types of buriedcableinstallations, such as power utilities, it probably has itsgreatest value in connection with telephone cable installations, andtherefore it is herein explained, for purposes of illustration, withspecific reference to telephone systems.

An underground telephone cable must be looped up above the surface atspaced intervals of a quarter of a mile or less to be accessible forcable-to-cable splicing and for connections with service lines tosubscribers telephones. At each such above-ground location the cableloop and the connections to it are protected by aterminal enclosure thatis either mounted on a post or is self-supporting.

Heretoforeterminal enclosures have comprised little more than a housingfor the above-ground portion of the plant, to protect it from theelements and from unauthorized access, together with some means forsupporting the cable loop to hold it in a position to be accessible whenthe enclosure was opened. No provision was made for an orderlyarrangement of the various splices and connections housed in theenclosure and of the unspliced assigned and unassigned conductors in thecable loop. As a result, a telephone installer or service man who openeda terminal enclosure was likely to be confronted with a disorderly snarlof cable, connectors, wires and splices that greatly complicated hisessential task of tracing conductor pairs.

A great deal of expensive time was wasted because of this condition, butequally important was the detrimental effect upon morale that resultedfrom confusion and disorganization at the very points in the plant whereit was essential that service, maintenance and installation work be donemethodically and'systematically.

This condition of poor housekeeping in buried cable terminalenclosureshas persisted for many years. Apparently it has heretoforebeen accepted as inevitable. The present invention is based upon arecognition that installation and maintenance crews can and will achieveneat and orderly arrangements inside terminal enclosures provided theconstruction of the enclosures encourages neatness and orderliness, andespecially if it is such as to make disorderliness nearly impossible.Thus it is a premise of this invention that the good housekeepersobjective of having everything in its place cannot be achieved unlessthere is a place for everything.

Hence it is a g'eneral object of the present invention to providemeansin a terminal enclosure of the character described for establishingand compelling a neat and logical arrangement ofthe wiring that is to behoused in the enclosure, so that an orderly, easily servicedinstallation is not merely encouraged but is practically enforced.

For a better understanding of the objects and nature of the invention itshould be explained at this point that the conductors in a terminalenclosure of the character here under consideration comprise assignedand unassigned conductors of the cable, service lines, and splicedleads. Unassigned conductors of the cable are those that merely passthrough the terminal enclosure on the way to connections at otherlocations, and which therefore can be expected to need attention onlyrarely, if ever. Service lines are those conductors which extend betweenthe enclosure and subscribers houses to connect subscribers instrumentswith the cable, and they are of course connected with the properconductors of the cable by splices. Assignedconductors are those strandsof the cable that are either connected with service lines entering theterminal enclosure or designated for future connection with servicelines to be run to it.

Bearing in mind these different categories of conductors to beaccommodated, it is another object of this invention to pro vide aterminal enclosure of the character described that has means thereinforisolating from the remainder of the installation the unassigned cableconductors, to which access is seldom necessary, and for disposing themin a substantially protected zone where they can nevertheless beaccessible when occasion demands; for supporting all assignedcableconductors in a directly accessible zone; for disposing all splicedconductors in another directly accessible zone; and for supportingservice lines separately from the cable.

It is also an object of this invention to achieve a logical and orderlycompartmentation of the interior of a terminal enclosure of thecharacter described by means of a simple partition member therein thatis swingable between normal and access positions and is also readilyremovable.

Another and more specific object of this invention is to provide aterminal enclosure of the character described that has a readilyremovable partition member which separates 'the'unassigned conductors ofthe cable from the assigned conductors, serves as a support for thesplices and the assigned conductors whereby they are neatly held inseparate zones, and provides a white background for conductors that arelikely to require attention, to facilitate reference to their colorcoding.

A further object of this invention is to provide a terminal enclosure ofthe character described which can accommodate either a cable-to-cableconnection, or connections between a cable and one or more subscriberservice leads, and which, in either case, makes for a neat and orderlyinstallation.

With these observations and objectives in mind, the manner in which theinvention achieves its purpose will be appreciated from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings, which exemplify theinvention,it being understood that such changes in the specific apparatusdisclosed herein may be made as come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate several complete examples ofembodiments of the invention constructed according to the best modes sofar devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, andin which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the upper portion of a terminalenclosure embodying the principles of this invention, as seen from thefront, with its cover member removed;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the terminal enclosure taken on afore-and-aft extending plane that is just inside the nearer flange ofthe rear member;

FIG. 3 is a view of the terminal enclosure in front elevation, with thecover removed; 7

FIG. 4 is a view of the terminal enclosure in side elevation with thepartition member swung to its access position;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 5-5 in FIG. 3;I

FIG. 6 is a perspective view generally similar to FIG. I butillustrating the enclosure with an installation having connectingblocks;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the terminal enclosureillustrated in FIG. 6 taken on a fore-and-aft extending plane justinside the nearer flange of the rear member;

FIG. 8 is a view in front elevation (cover removed) of the terminalenclosure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 99 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 8 but showing the terminalenclosure with another type of installation and with a modified form ofsupporting member; 7

FIG. 11 is a view generally similar to FIGS. 2 and 7 but illustratingthe terminal enclosure of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a modified form of partition member foruse when the terminal enclosure houses a cableto-cable splice.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, thenumeral 5 designates generally an enclosure for above-ground terminalsof a buried cable plant, which terminal enclosure embodies theprinciples of the present invention. The enclosure is generally in thenature of a hollow post that is open at its bottom so that a loop of aburied cable, designated generally by 6, can extend above ground levelin it to be accessible for connections. The upper portion of theenclosure provides a terminal chamber 7 in which the splices andconnections are housed, while its lower portion, which is adapted to bepartially buried, comprises a tube 8 to which the terminal chamber 7opens downwardly and through which extend the upright stretches 9 of thecable loop and of service lines 10 that are connected with assignedconductors of the cable.

Structurally the terminal enclosure comprises a rear channel member 11which extends the full height of the enclosure, a lower front channelmember 12, and a generally L-shaped cover member 13. The rear channelmember 1 1, which carries all of the other elements of the enclosure andis adapted to be driven a distance into the ground, has a web portion 14that defines the rear wall of the enclosure and forwardly projectingflanges 15.

The lower front channel member 12 can be detachably secured to the rearmember 11, with its rearwardly projecting flanges snugly engaging theforwardly projecting flanges 15 of the rear member to cooperate withthem in defining the tubular bottom portion 8 of the enclosure. Thelower front channel member is preferably removable from the rear memberto facilitate getting the cable loop legs and service lines into theenclosure, after which the lower front channel is replaced and partiallyburied by back filling the hole in which the terminal enclosure is setand through which the cable loop and service lines are brought out ofthe ground. The lower front channel member is not ordinarily removed forservice and maintenance operations.

The cover member 13 cooperates with the upper portion of the rear member11 to define the upwardly elongated terminal chamber 7 at the top of theenclosure. The cover member comprises a channel portion 16 having thesame cross section as the lower front channel 12 and a cap 17 that fitsover the upper edge portions of the rear member 11. Cooperating with thecap to readily releasably hold the cover member in place on the rearmember are securement means on the flanges of those two members, nearthe bottom of the cover member, comprising slots 18 engageable withlaterally projecting pins 19 such as shoulder rivets or screws.

It is a feature of this invention that the interior of the terminalchamber 7 is more or less divided or compartmented into defined zones bya removable platelike supporting member 21 and a removable divider plateor partition member 22, both of which are supported by the rear member11 and extend transversely across it in forwardly spaced generallyparallel relation to its rear wall or web portion 14. The supportingmember 21, which is relatively short heightwise, is spaced a smalldistance above the lower front channel 12. The longer partition member22 extends through a substantial portion of the height of the terminalchamber 7 but has its lower edge spaced a distance above the supportingmember and its upper edge spaced below the top of the rear member.

The purpose of the supporting member 21 is to support the upright cablestretches 9 and service lines 10 that extend down through the tube 8,and to isolate the cable loop from the service lines. The cable liesbehind the supporting member while the service lines are disposed infront of it.

To hold the supporting member in place it has rearwardly projectingflanges 24 at its opposite sides that are closely received between theflanges 15 of the rear member and are secured to them.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the supporting member can be madedemountable. To this end its flanges 24 have slots 25 which open totheir bottom edges and which engage coaxial shouldered rivets 26 thatproject inwardly from the flanges 15 of the rear member; and it also hasa threaded hole 27 in each of its flanges, near the top thereof, inwhich is received a hexheaded screw 28 that extends through the adjacentrear member flange 15.

The supporting member also comprises a pair of forwardly projecting arms30, one near each side of it, for supporting service lines. As shown inFIGS. 10 and 11, these comprise the legs of a U-shaped bracket 29 thathas its bight portion flatwise overlying and fastened to the frontsurface of the supporting member body. The arms 30 have holes 31 thatreceive the mounting screws of Fargo connectors 32 or similar clamplikefasteners that engage the service lines. One or more holes can also beprovided in the medial portion of the supporting member, and it will beunderstood that any of the holes in it can be used for connection of agrounding clamp or conductor inasmuch as the supporting member is madeof bare metal, has a good electrical connection with the rear member andcan be readily grounded to metal sheathing on the cable.

Opening to the lower edge of the platelike supporting member body areT-shaped slots 33 that define necks around which cable clamps 34 can besecured. Each cable clamp can be a conventional hose clamp that embracesone of the necksand the sheathed leg 9 of a cable behind the supportingplate.

The partition member or divider plate 22 is generally channel-shaped incross section, having flanges 35 that project rearwardly from oppositesides of its web portion 36 to be received between the flanges 15 of therear member. lt defines a rear compartment in the terminal chamber inwhich the loop 52 of unassigned conductors of the cable is housed, moreor less isolated from the remaining conductors of the installation, andit serves as a protection for the unassigned conductors and also as asupport for the spliced conductors and the unconnected but assignedconductors of the cable.

The flanges 35 of the partition member have upper and lower pairs ofdisengageable connections with the flanges 15 of the rear member. Asshown, these connections comprise pins or shouldered rivets 41 and 42that project inwardly from the flanges 15 of the rear member, and slots43 and 44 in the flanges 35 of the partition member, opening to theirrear edges. An upper pair of the pins, designated 41 and cooperatingwith the upper slots 43, project laterally inwardly, coaxially with oneanother, from the flanges 15 of the rear member, while the pins of thelower pair designated 42, are similarly arranged and cooperate with thelower slots 44 in the partition member.

When both pairs of its connections with the rear member are engaged, thepartition member is maintained in its normal position in which itdivides the interior of the connection chamber into front and rear uppercompartments. When the partition member is lifted slightly to disengagethe upper pair of connections, it can be swung about the lower pair ofconnections (which then serve as a hinge) to bring it to an accessposition (illustrated in FIG. 4) in which its upper end is spaced asubstantial distance forwardly of the rear member and in which its webportion is disposed at a forwardly and upwardly inclined oblique angleto the web portion of the rear member. For complete removal, the lowerpair of connections can be disengaged by further lifting the partitionmember slightly and moving it bodily forward. The upper slots 43 aresubstantially L-shaped while the lower slots 44 are preferablysubstantially T-shaped to prevent inadvertent displacement of thepartition member off of the lower pair of pins 42 when the partitionmember is being swung forward to its access position.

Midway between the flanges 35 of the partition member its web portionhas a bend that is U-shaped in cross section to provide a forwardlyprojecting rib or spine 37 that extends lengthwise along it. The frontwall of this rib is thus forwardly offset relative to the remainder ofthe web, to define a zone in which the spliced end portions 23 ofservice lines and cable conductors are located, while the coplanar websurfaces 38 at opposite sides of the rib define zones in which aresecured the upright stretches of a loop 45 of assigned conductors of thecable. Preferably at least the front surface of the partition member ispainted white, to facilitate selection of the colorcoded conductors towhich connections are to be made.

The front wall of the rib 37 has holes 39 at intervals along its lengththat provide for securement to the partition member of tie straps orconnector blocks for the spliced leads and/or a grounding conductor 60connected with the supporting plate. FIGS. l-5 illustrate aninstallation in which a resilient cliplike tie connector 61 is securedto the front wall of the rib by means of an integral resilientlycompressible tit 62 which is forced through a hole in the rib from thefront thereof. The spliced conductors 23, which extend along the rib,are gathered and held in this clip. FIGS. 6-9 illustrate an installationin which the connections are made at connector blocks 64 to which theleads are brought and which serve as lightning arresters, beingsometimes referred to as protected blocks. The mounting screws 65 forthese blocks extend through holes in the rib and provide a connection toone end of a grounding conductor 60 that is connected at its other endto the supporting member. With the protected blocks secured to the frontsurface of the forwardly offset rib 37, binding posts at the sides ofthe blocks are spaced well forward of the coplanar web surfaces 38 to bereadily accessible. FIGS. 10 and 11 show the connected leads 23extending along the rib and fastened by another type of connectorcomprising a slotted block 47 of resilient but rather hard plasticmaterial having an integral tit that can be pressed through a hole inthe partition member, and a plastic tie strap 48, with an integralbuckle or clip portion, which is passed through the slot in the blockand tightened around the conductors. The rear end portion of the tits,screws or other fasteners for such connector blocks and the like areaccommodated in the bay or recess 40 which the rib defines at its rear,so that the rib holds them away from contact with the cable conductors52 that lie behind the partition member.

' The partition member also has holes 46 and 50 in its coplanar webportions 38 at opposite sides of the rib 37, to provide for securementof a loop 45 of assigned cable conductors by means of clips or tieconnectors such as those above described.

It will now be apparent that the supporting plate and the partitionmember provide a logical compartmentation and definition of zones in theinterior of the terminal enclosure whereby the making of a neat andorderly installation is practically compelled.

The loop 52 of unsheathed unassigned conductors of the cable comesdirectly up from the sheathed upright cable stretches 9 behind thesupporting member, and it lies behind the partition member, normallyprotected by it but readily accessible upon swinging the partitionmember to its access position. The loop 45 of assigned but unconnectedconductors comes up from the cable sheath butts at a forward and upwardinclination to overlie the coplanar surfaces 38 on the front of thepartition member at opposite sides of the rib 37, with its bight portionspaced a small distance above the top of the partition member so as tobridge over the rib. The spliced conductors 23' of the cable come up outof the cable sheath butts at a forwardly and laterally inwardinclination to overlie the rib 37, and the spliced service lineconductors 23 come up out of the service line sheaths (on the arm 30 infront of the supporting plate) at a laterally inward inclination, toextend up the rib alongside the cable conductors to which they arespliced.

To insure that all of the spliced conductors will be neatly arranged,straight along the front surface of the rib, an eyebolt 49 can besecured to the partition member, projecting forwardly from the bottom ofthe rib, to serve as a sort of collector through which all splicedconductors must be brought. When splicing operations are in progress,conductors to be connected can be temporarily bent down over the ring ofthe eyebolt to physically separate them from the rest of the conductorsalong the rib, thus facilitating identification.

The upper portion of the loop 52 of unassigned conductors of the cablecan be secured either to the upper portion of the partition member web,as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 9, or to the web portion 14 of therear member, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and II. If the loop ofunassigned conductors is fastened to the back of the partition member,the tits of connectors can be inserted into the holes 46 in thepartition member from the back of it, to hold the legs of that loop, andthe holes 50 can then be used for connectors for the unassignedconductor loop. In most cases, however, it is preferable to secure theunassigned conductors to the rear member, which has a hole 53 near itstop, midway between its flanges, to receive a tie connector 54 that isfastened around the bight portion of the unassigned conductor loop, asillustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. With that arrangement a sleeve orenvelope of Plyotilm or the like (not shown) can be slipped over theloop of unassigned conductors before they are tied in place, to keep theconductors bundled together and to protect them from moisture andscuffing. The tie strap that secures the bight portion of the looppasses through a slot in this sleeve.

Where the terminal enclosure of this invention is employed to housespliced connections between two lengths of cables, the above describedplatelike partition member can be replaced by the ladderlike partitionmember 56 that is illustrated in FIG. 12, which serves as a splicesupport. Its parallel upright members 35' correspond to the flanges 35of the platelike partition member and have similar slots 43 and 44 toprovide for its detachable connection to the rear member. The two cablescoming into the enclosure are clamped to the supporting plate and theirunsheathed conductors are brought up behind the splice support, beingleft long enough to extend a substantial distance above it so that theycan be folded down over it after splicing. The runglike transversemembers 57 of the splice support hold the upwardly extending stretchesof the unsheathed conductors neatly against the web portion 14 of therear member.

From the foregoing description taken with the accompanying drawings itwill be apparent that this invention provides a terminal enclosure forunderground telephone cable and similar buried plant that virtuallyenforces the making of a neat, well-organized installation wherebysubsequent service work is greatly facilitated.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can beembodied in forms other than as herein disclosed for purposes ofillustration.

The invention is defined by the following claims:

1. An enclosure for above-ground terminals of a buried cableinstallation, which enclosure comprises an upright channel-shapedrearmember having a web portion and forwardly projecting flangeportions, and front cover means detachably securable to the rear memberand cooperating therewith to define a terminal chamber at the top of theenclosure into which upright portions of buried cable and service linescan extend from the ground and in which their connections can beaccessibly housed, said enclosure being characterized by:

A. a supporting member extending transversely across the rear membernear the bottom of the terminal chamber, in forwardly spaced relation tothe web portion of the rear member;

B. means on the supporting member for securing upright cable stretchesthereto and supporting the same in the space between the supportingmember and the web portion of the rear member;

C. means on the supporting member for securing upright stretches ofservice lines thereto and supporting the same in front of the supportingmember;

D. a partition member having a length to extend through a substantialportion of the height of the terminal chamber and a width tosubstantially bridge the flanges of the rear member;

E. means for readily detachably securing the partition member to theflanges of the rear member, to hold the partition member in forwardlyspaced substantially parallel relationship to the web portion of therear member, with the lower edge of the partition member spaced abovethe supporting member and with its upper edge spaced below the top ofthe rear member, so that the partition member defines a rear compartmentin the terminal chamber that can house portions of cable conductors towhich access is not normally required; and

F. means on the partition member, at spaced-apart zones thereof, forsupporting at the front of the partition member conductors to whichaccess may be required.

2. The terminal enclosure of claim 1, further characterized by: v

A. said means on the supporting member for securing upright cablestretches thereto comprising slots in the supporting member, near itsbottom, in which a hose-type clamp can be engaged; and

B. said means on the supporting member for securing upright stretches ofservice lines thereto comprising 1. a pair of laterally spaced apartarms projecting forwardly from the supporting member, and 2. means oneach of said arms for securing a clamp thereto. 3. The terminalenclosure of claim 1, further characterized by:

A. the partition member being substantially channelshaped, with flangesprojecting rearwardly from its web portion and received between theflanges of the rear member; and B. said means for readily detachablysecuring the partition member to the rear member comprising 1. inwardlyprojecting pins on the flanges of the rear member engageable in 2. slotsin the flanges of the partition member, said pins and slots beingarranged to permit the partition member to be partially disengaged andswung to an access position in which it is held on the rear member at aforward and upward inclination to the web portion of the rear member.

4. The enclosure of claim 1, further characterized by:

A. the partition member having a forwardly projecting rib extendinglengthwise therealong and defining a narrow medial surface that isforwardly offset from a pair of coplanar surfaces, one at each side ofthe rib; and

B. said conductor supporting means on the partition member being sodisposed that certain of the conductors to which access may be requiredoverlie each of said coplanar surfaces and others overlie said medialsurface.

5. In an enclosure for above-ground terminals of a buried cableinstallation, which enclosure comprises an upright channel-shaped rearmember having a web portion and forwardly projecting flanges, andremovable closure means cooperating with the rear member to define avertically elongated terminal chamber at the top of the enclosure thathouses assigned conductors of a cable, to which access must be had forthe making of connections, and unassigned conductors of the cable towhich access need not normally be had:

A. an upright partition member in the terminal chamber, extendingthrough a substantial portion of its height in a forwardly spacedrelation to the web portion of said rear member and transversely betweenthe flanges of said rear member, to divide the terminal chamber into arear compartment for unassigned conductors and a front compartment inwhich assigned conductors are readily accessible;

B. means at spaced-apart zones on the partition member for securingassigned conductors to the front thereof; and

C. means providing detachable connections between the partition memberand said rear member, so arranged that the upper end of the partitionmember can be swung away from the rear member to dispose the partitionmember at a forward and upward inclination to the web portion of therear member, and the partition member can be wholly detached from therear member.

6. in an enclosure for the above-ground terminals of an installationcomprising a buried cable having numerous conductors, and service linesconnected with certain of said conductors, which enclosure comprises anupright channel-shaped rear member having a web portion and forwardlyprojecting flanges and removable closure means cooperating with the rearmember to define a vertically elongated terminal chamber at the top ofthe enclosure:

A. a platelike upright supporting member upwardly adjacent to the bottomof the terminal chamber, said supporting member being supported by therear member in forwardly spaced relation to its web portion andextending transversely between its flanges;

B. means on the supporting member for supporting the legs of a loop ofcable in the space between the supporting member and the web portion ofthe rear member; and

C. means on the supporting member for supporting service lines at thefront thereof, comprising 1. a pair of forwardly projecting arms on thesupporting member, and

2. means on said arms for fastening clamp connectors to them.

7. In combination with an enclosure for above-ground terminals of aburied cable installation, which enclosure comprises an uprightchannel-shaped rear member having a web portion and forwardly projectingflanges, and removable closure means cooperating with the rear member todefine a vertically elongated terminal chamber at the top of theenclosure that houses the connected portions of conductors that extendinto the terminal chamber from underground:

A. a channel-shaped partition member having a length equal to asubstantial portion 'of the height of the terminal chamber and having 1.a web portion in which there are spaced-apart holes for securement ofconductor ties to the partition member, and

2. lengthwise extending flanges projecting rearwardly from oppositesides of its web portion,

3. each of said flanges having a pair of slots therein that open to itsrear edge, one near each end of the flange; and

B. means on the flanges of the rear member providing laterally inwardlyextending pinlike projections, one for each of said slots and which areengageable with said slots to readily detachably mount the partitionmember on the rear member with the web portion of the partition memberin forwardly spaced substantially parallel relation to the web portionof the rear member and substantially spanning the flanges thereof sothat the partition member defines a rear compartment in the terminalchamber for conductor portions to which access is not needed and a frontcompartment in which connections can be accessibly disposed.

8. The combination of claim 7, further characterized by:

the web portion of the partition member being bent to provide aforwardly projecting rib that extends lengthwise along the partitionmember intermediate its flanges and provides a forwardly facing wallportion that is forwardly offset relative to the remainder of said webportion.

9. In combination with a cable which is mainly buried and whichcomprises a multiplicity of conductors enclosed in a sheath, and aterminal enclosure that opens downwardly and into which the cable loopsupwardly to have its conductors accessible above ground, said enclosurecomprising a channel shaped rear member having a web portion andforwardly projecting flanges, and a removable closure cooperating withthe rear member to define a vertically elongated terminal chamber at thetop of the enclosure that houses unsheathed portions of the cableconductors, certain of which are assigned for connections to be housedin the terminal chamber and the remainder of which are unassigned:

A. a partition member having a web portion of a length to extend througha substantial portion of the height of the terminal chamber and a widthto span a substantial portion of the distance between the flanges of therear member;

B. means for supporting the partition member on the rear member with theweb portion of the partition member in forwardly spaced substantiallyparallel relation to the web portion of the rear member;

C. means on the partition member web portion securing to its frontsurface the assigned unsheathed conductors of the cable so that saidassigned conductors are readily accessible for making and servicing ofconnections to them; and

D. means securing the loop of unassigned conductors of the cable to oneof said web portions, in flatwise overlying relation thereto, so thatsaid unassigned conductors are confined to the space between said webportions, out of the way of the assigned conductors and connections tothem, and are protected by the partition member.

10. The combination of claim 9, further characterized by:

E. a service line which extends into the terminal chamber to have itsconductors connected with assigned conductors of the cable;

F. A platelike supporting member carried by the rear member in forwardlyspaced substantially parallel relation to its web portion andtransversely to its flanges, said supporting member being in the lowerportion of the terminal chamber and in downwardly spaced relation to thepartition member;

means on the supporting member for supporting sheathed portions of thecable at the rear thereof; and

H. means on the supporting member for supporting the service line at thefront thereof ll. In an enclosure for above-ground terminals of a buriedcable installation, which enclosure comprises an upright channel shapedrear member having a web portion and forwardly projecting flanges, andremovable closure means cooperating with the rear member to define avertically elongated terminal chamber at the top of the enclosure thathouses assigned conductors of a cable, to which access must be had forthe making of connections, and unassigned conductors of the cable towhich access need not normally be had:

A. an upright partition member in the terminal chamber, ex-

tending through a substantial portion of its height, said partitionmember being substantially channel-shaped in cross section with itsflanges projecting rearwardly from its web portion:

B. means connecting the flanges of the partition member to the flangesof said rear member to support the partition member in forwardly spacedrelation to the web portion of said rear member and transversely betweenthe flanges of said rear member, to divide the terminal chamber into arear compartment for unassigned conductors and a front compartment inwhich assigned conductors are readily accessible;

C. means at spaced-apart zones on the partition member for securingassigned conductors to the front thereof;

D. the web portion of the partition member having a forwardly projectingrib extending lengthwise therealong and defining a narrow medial surfacethat is forwardly offset from a pair of coplanar surfaces, one at eachside of the rib; and

said conductor-supporting means on the partition member being sodisposed that certain of the conductors to which access may be requiredoverlie each of said coplanar surfaces and others overlie said medialsurface.

1. An enclosure for above-ground terminals of a buried cableinstallation, which enclosure comprises an upright channel-shaped rearmember having a web portion and forwardly projecting flange portions,and front cover means detachably securable to the rear member andcooperating therewith to define a terminal chamber at the top of theenclosure into which upright portions of buried cable and service linescan extend from the ground and in which their connections can beaccessibly housed, said enclosure being characterized by: A. asupporting member extending transversely across the rear member near thebottom of the terminal chamber, in forwardly spaced relation to the webportion of the rear member; B. means on the supporting member forsecuring upright cable stretches thereto and supporting the same in thespace between the supporting member and the web portion of the rearmember; C. means on the supporting member for securing upright stretchesof service lines thereto and supporting the same in front of thesupporting member; D. a partition member having a length to extendthrough a substantial portion of the height of the terminal chamber anda width to substantially bridge the flanges of the rear member; E. meansfor readily detachably securing the partition member to the flanges ofthe rear member, to hold the partition member in forwardly spacedsubstantially parallel relationship to the web portion of the rearmember, with the lower edge of the partition member spaced above thesupporting member and with its upper edge spaced below the top of therear member, so that the partition member defines a rear compartment inthe terminal chamber that can house portions of cable conductors towhich access is not normally required; and F. means on the partitionmember, at spaced-apart zones thereof, for supporting at the front ofthe partition member conductors to which access may be required.
 2. Theterminal enclosure of claim 1, further characterized by: A. said meanson the supporting member for securing upright cable stretches theretocomprising slots in the supporting member, near its bottom, in which ahose-type clamp can be engaged; and B. said means on the supportingmember for securing upright stretches of service lines theretocomprising
 2. means on each of said arms for securing a clamp thereto.2. slots in the flanges of the partition member, said pins and slotsbeing arranged to permit the partition member to be partially disengagedand swung to an access position in which it is held on the rear memberat a forward And upward inclination to the web portion of the rearmember.
 2. lengthwise extending flanges projecting rearwardly fromopposite sides of its web portion,
 2. means on said arms for fasteningclamp connectors to them.
 3. each of said flanges having a pair of slotstherein that open to its rear edge, one near each end of the flange; andB. means on the flanges of the rear member providing laterally inwardlyextending pinlike projections, one for each of said slots and which areengageable with said slots to readily detachably mount the partitionmember on the rear member with the web portion of the partition memberin forwardly spaced substantially parallel relation to the web portionof the rear member and substantially spanning the flanges thereof sothat the partition member defines a rear compartment in the terminalchamber for conductor portions to which access is not needed and a frontcompartment in which connections can be accessibly disposed.
 3. Theterminal enclosure of claim 1, further characterized by: A. thepartition member being substantially channel-shaped, with flangesprojecting rearwardly from its web portion and received between theflanges of the rear member; and B. said means for readily detachablysecuring the partition member to the rear member comprising
 4. Theenclosure of claim 1, further characterized by: A. the partition memberhaving a forwardly projecting rib extending lengthwise therealong anddefining a narrow medial surface that is forwardly offset from a pair ofcoplanar surfaces, one at each side of the rib; and B. said conductorsupporting means on the partition member being so disposed that certainof the conductors to which access may be required overlie each of saidcoplanar surfaces and others overlie said medial surface.
 5. In anenclosure for above-ground terminals of a buried cable installation,which enclosure comprises an upright channel-shaped rear member having aweb portion and forwardly projecting flanges, and removable closuremeans cooperating with the rear member to define a vertically elongatedterminal chamber at the top of the enclosure that houses assignedconductors of a cable, to which access must be had for the making ofconnections, and unassigned conductors of the cable to which access neednot normally be had: A. an upright partition member in the terminalchamber, extending through a substantial portion of its height in aforwardly spaced relation to the web portion of said rear member andtransversely between the flanges of said rear member, to divide theterminal chamber into a rear compartment for unassigned conductors and afront compartment in which assigned conductors are readily accessible;B. means at spaced-apart zones on the partition member for securingassigned conductors to the front thereof; and C. means providingdetachable connections between the partition member and said rearmember, so arranged that the upper end of the partition member can beswung away from the rear member to dispose the partition member at aforward and upward inclination to the web portion of the rear member,and the partition member can be wholly detached from the rear member. 6.In an enclosure for the above-ground terminals of an installationcomprising a buried cable having numerous conductors, and service linesconnected with certain of said conductors, which enclosure comprises anupright channel-shaped rear member having a web portion and forwardlyprojecting flanges and removable closure means cooperating with the rearmember to define a vertically elongated terminal chamber at the top ofthe enclosure: A. a platelike upright supporting member upwardlyadjacent to the bottom of the terminal chamber, said supporting memberbeing supported by the rear member in forwardly spaced relation to itsweb portion and extending transversely between its flanges; B. means onthe supporting member for supporting the legs of a loop of cable in thespace between the supporting member and the web portion of the rearmember; and C. means on the supporting member for supporting servicelines at the front thereof, comprising
 7. In combination with anenclosure for above-ground terminals of a buried cable installation,which enclosure comprises an upright channel-shaped rear member having aweb portion and forwardly projecting flanges, and removable closuremeans cooperating with the rear member to define a vertically elongatedterminal chamber at the top of the enclosure that houses the connectedportions of conductors that extend into the terminal chamber fromunderground: A. a channel-shaped partition member having a length equalto a substantial portion of the height of the terminal chamber andhaving
 8. The combination of claim 7, further characterized by: the webportion of the partition member being bent to provide a forwardlyprojecting rib that extends lengthwise along the partition memberintermediate its flanges and provides a forwardly facing wall portionthat is forwardly offset relative to the remainder of said web portion.9. In combination with a cable which is mainly buried and whichcomprises a multiplicity of conductors enclosed in a sheath, and aterminal enclosure that opens downwardly and into which the cable loopsupwardly to have its conductors accessible above ground, said enclosurecomprising a channel shaped rear member having a web portion andforwardly projecting flanges, and a removable closure cooperating withthe rear member to define a vertically elongated terminal chamber at thetop of the enclosure that houses unsheathed portions of the cableconductors, certain of which are assigned for connections to be housedin the terminal chamber and the remainder of which are unassigned: A. apartition member having a web portion of a length to extend through asubstantial portion of the height of the terminal chamber and a width tospan a substantial portion of the distance between the flanges of therear member; B. means for supporting the partition member on the rearmember with the web portion of the partition member in forwardly spacedsubstantially parallel relation to the web portion of the rear member;C. means on the partition member web portion securing to its frontsurface the assigned unsheathed conductors of the cable so that saidassigned conductors are readily accessible for making and servicing ofconnections to them; and D. means securing the loop of unassignedconductors of the cable to one of said web portions, in flatwiseoverlying relation thereto, so that said unassigned conductors areconfined to the space between said web portions, out of the way of theassigned conductors and connections to them, and are protected by thepartition member.
 10. The combination of claim 9, further characterizedby: E. a service line which extends into the terminal chamber to haveits conductors connected with assigned conductors of the cable; F. Aplatelike supporting member carried by the rear member in forwardlyspaced substantially parallel relation to its web portion andtransversely to its flanges, said supporting member being in the lowerportion of the terminal chamber and in downwardly spaced relation to thepartition member; G. means on the supporting member for supportingsheathed portions of the cable at the rear thereof; and H. means on thesupporting member for supporting the service line at the front thereof.11. In an enclosure for above-ground terminals of a buried cableinstallation, which enclosure comprises an upright channel-shaped rearmember having a web portion and forwardly projecting flanges, andremovable closure means cooperating with the rear member to define avertically elongated terminal chamber at the top of the enclosure thathouses assigned conductors of a cable, to which access must be had forthe making of connections, and unassigned conductors of the cable towhich access need not normally be had: A. an upright partition member inthe terminal chamber, extending through a substantial portion of itsheight, said partition member being substantially channel-shaped incross section with its flanges projecting rearwardly from its webportion: B. means connecting the flanges of the partition member to theflanges of said rear member to support the partition member in forwardlyspaced relation to the web portion of said rear member and transverselybetween the flanges of said rear member, to divide the terminal chamberinto a rear compartment for unassigned conductors and a frontcompartment in which assigned conductors are readily accessible; C.means at spaced-apart zones on the partition member for securingassigned conductors to the front thereof; D. the web portion of thepartition member having a forwardly projecting rib extending lengthwisetherealong and defining a narrow medial surface that is forwardly offsetfrom a pair of coplanar surfaces, one at each side of the rib; and E.said conductor-supporting means on the partition member being sodisposed that certain of the conductors to which access may be requiredoverlie each of said coplanar surfaces and others overlie said medialsurface.